The Janitor's Closet
by Agent08
Summary: ONESHOT. Some problems are best solved in small spaces. So what's a better place to confront the person you loathe most than inside the janitor's closet? SyaoranxSakura.


Agent08 Reporting for Duty!

Disclaimer: I do not own CCS, or any of its characters. The plot is all mine, and that's basically it.

Now...on with the story!

**The Janitor's Closet**

**Sakura -**

The day started off like every other day in my life. If you need further explaining, then rest assured - more explaining is on the way. I was just comfortably snoozing in my room, exhausted from the other day. Nothing could've woken me up, if you exclude my enormous, loud mouth, brown nosing, idiotic, spying, loser brother of mine.

Like most mornings (I can't believe how I didn't expect it), I woke up with a nice, long scream. An icy feeling enveloped my entire body, not to mention absolutely drenching my hair and a just recently bought pink nightgown, "HOE!" I screamed, rolling off of my bed and hitting the hard floor. I knew by that insane throbbing pain in my behind that there was a bruise, "ONII-CHAN!"

My ears were filled with an annoying chortle, which I was already too familiar with, "It's not my fault, kaiju! You should've woken up earlier." Was my stupid older brother's only reply, before he climbed down the stairs, laughing at yet another successful prank of his. Older brothers...don't they have anything better to do?

"I am not a kaiju!" I replied, before stomping up to our bathroom to grab a towel.

The rest of the morning didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped. I was still unbelievably cold from Touya's dumb stunt; I tripped on the last step of the stairs and landed on my face (what? I'm clumsy at times!), my toast was cold and burnt (once again, compliments of my older brother.), and I mistook a glass of mouthwash for water.

And I thought my day couldn't get any worse. Boy, was I wrong.

**_xxxxxx_ **

**Syaoran -**

I don't know about Sakura, but my day started out quite nicely. The warm rays of the sun, greeting me with a gentle goodmorning, woke my sleepy eyes. I groaned in delight and stretched my arms out as far as they could go. Today was another day, and all I needed to make it better than yesterday was...a slightly better attitude than yesterday.

When I came out of my room, I was fully dressed into my school uniform. Silently, I made my way through the empty hall, already knowing that Wei was already up, and making me my breakfast. I took a seat at the mahogany brown table, and took a sip of the orange juice that I bet was just prepared for me minutes earlier.

"Goodmorning, Li-san. Have a good rest?" Wei asked me in his grandfather voice. I always found joy in hearing him use that tone, because it always made things seem like I had a father when I didn't. I think that, that's the only reason he ever uses it, and that really does sound a lot like Wei.

"It was fine," I answered, beginning to cut up the perfectly made French toast that he had just set before me. I nodded at him in gratitude, and all he did was smile pleasantly. After I had finished, I placed my plate in the sink and got my backpack ready for school. I waved goodbye to Wei, and in minutes I was on my way.

Something about that morning made me feel just a bit cheerful. I knew something good was going to happen, I could tell. I guess you could call it men's intuition. What with my pleasant morning, and that odd feeling, I thought that nothing could possibly ruin my day. Boy, had I got it all wrong.

**_xxxxxx_ **

**Normal Narration -**

Sweating and panting, Sakura had just made it to class a minute before the bell rang. With a large sigh of relief, she took a seat at her usual desk and gave a warm smile towards Tomoyo. All Tomoyo could do was giggle at Sakura's tardiness, which she was already used to, of course. Any friend of Sakura's could expect that from her.

"Maybe you should try waking up more early," a nasty voice taunted from behind her, "Maybe then you'll be two minutes late rather than your normal five minutes."

Sakura turned around and fixed a glare at the boy sitting with his hands behind his head, his amber eyes closed. Syaoran smirked, knowing that Sakura was probably already scowling at him, "You know, I had a rough morning. I really don't have time for your stupid insults." Was all Sakura could say, before turning around to give her full attention to the sensei.

"Goodmorning class," Tereda-sensei had said, opening the attendance folder and getting out a red pen to check off who and who was not present, "Roll call!" he announced, going down the list in alphabetical order. Sakura waited intently for her name to be called. In the mean time however, she would talk to Tomoyo.

"Hey!" Sakura whispered, after Tomoyo's name had been called, "What happened last night? You never called me back!" She questioned, curious as to why her best friend never even gave her an acceptable excuse that morning for ditching her on one of their usual phone talks. "I was waiting all night!"

"Gomen," Tomoyo apologized, "But I have a good reason!"

"Nani?" Sakura answered.

"Eriol-kun called last night! Can you believe it?"

Sakura squealed as quietly as she could. She spoke behind her hand as she kept on coaxing Tomoyo for details on what she and Eriol-kun had talked about the other night. She wasn't surprised (though very excited) to find out that he asked her out on a date for Saturday. She congratulated Tomoyo for getting the guy of her dreams with an unmistakeable smile.

"Hey Kinomoto! Are you deaf?" Sakura suddenly heard from behind her.

"Hmm?" She replied, giving her attention, once more to the front of the class, where Tereda-sensei was staring intently at her. She giggled nervously, "Ano...err...I..."

"I can see that you were two are quite busy. Please, don't let me interrupt," Tereda-sensei said, mocking both Sakura and Tomoyo in that way that most teachers did. Sakura sank in he seat, a deep hue of crimson creeping onto her cheeks. "Ano...Iie, Terada-sensei. Gomen-nasai." Sakura said plainly.

"Let's hope that, that doesn't happen again, shall we Kinomoto-san?"

"Hai!" Sakura replied obediently, "Err...and...present!" She added clumsily at the end. The whole room was filled with snickers. The loudest one had to be coming from behind Sakura, the snicker that was purposely loud, so everyone could know what an idiot he thought she was. Sakura had to use every bone in her body to keep herself from whipping around and insulting Syaoran with the first rude name that popped into her head.

_**xxxxxx**_

The rest of the day surprisingly went better for Sakura. She didn't have anymore clumsy accidents, nor did her lunch have anything burnt. She smiled happily as she took her first bite out of her tuna sandwich. She chewed whilst listening to whatever else Tomoyo had to say about her phone call with Eriol, excitement growing with every word she said.

Tomoyo sighed dreamily against the cherry blossom's tree trunk. Sakura giggled, never seeing her best friend in such a state over a single boy, "Tomoy-chan, get a hold of yourself. Can't you get sane enough to tell me what else you two talked about, besides the plans on your date Saturday night?" Sakura requested sarcastically, though Tomoyo didn't seem to be listening. Though someone else was.

"Could you please shutup? There are some people trying to eat up here!" A sudden voice had said, scaring the hell out of both of the two girls sitting underneath the tree - Sakura more so than Tomoyo.

"Hoe!" Sakura screamed, automatically getting up from her sitting position to look above her. She hoped it wouldn't be some sort of evil monster, but unluckily for her, she saw no one other than Li Syaoran sitting on a single tree branch, the object of her hatred, "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that! And you could at least make your presence known, you know." Sakura said, not in her nicest manner.

Sakura watched as part of his lunch fell off of his lap, onto the ground, "Kuso," he cursed, angry that he hadn't even gotten to eating that part of his lunch yet, "Look what you made me do! Can you get out of here yet so I can eat what's left of my lunch in peace?" he retorted, in a tone no nicer than Sakura's.

"Gladly!" Sakura answered, grabbing Tomoyo's hand and walking out of the protective shade given by the tree, "If I had known I was eating my lunch anywhere near you, I wouldn't have been eating there in the first place!"

**_xxxxxx_ **

**Sakura -**

"Argh!" I exclaimed, "Can you believe the never of that guy? Oh, I can't wait for the day I finally out shine him, and make _him_ look like the stupid one!" I added, rubbing my palms together in an evil sort of way.

"Remind me again why you hate him so much?" Tomoyo said, as if she didn't remember at all how he had first treated me his first day at school.

"You know what he did," I hissed, "I don't think that 'Kick Me' sign just appeared on my back out of no where!"

"You have no proof he did it!" She countered.

"So you're on his side? After all, he's the one that obliged to the stupid sign!"

"Sakura-chan, stop it," I heard Tomoyo say. Her voice was sterner than I'd ever heard it before. I knew she had to say something important, "I'm on your side of course, it's just that ever since he moved here, you two have been arguing non-stop! How are you supposed to deal with each other?"

"That's the point," I replied, rolling my eyes as I did so, as if the answer to this question was the most obvious in the world, "We don't! And it's not like we have to, anyway. Does that answer your question?" I smirked, completely satisfied with my answer.

"You never know, Sakura-chan. You and Li-kun might be put into some really uncomfortable situations with each other, and the both of you might have to work together to get out of it. If that time ever comes, won't it be hard to work together if you two don't even speak civilly?"

Something about Tomoyo's voice made me feel suspicious. But I never questioned her about it. I never even gave her question the time of day. I just simply walked away, knowing she'd follow. I mean, come on. Li Syaoran and me? Working together? I had very good reason to highly doubt that.

**_xxxxxx_ **

**Syaoran -**

Five minutes. That's how much estimated peace I had, before I heard someone climbing up the cherry blossom tree to sit on the branch next to me. I rolled my eyes at the sight of Hiirigizawa Eriol - with that same stupid smile on his face - occupying that very branch I was talking about. I groaned.

"What do you want?" I asked, not caring how that sounded.

"Do I need a reason to speak to my favourite cousin?" He replied, a happy kind of smirk taking the place of his smile. Kami-sama, I hated it when he called me that, "So, I heard a little screaming fest happened here just before I came. Let me take a shot in the dark here and say that it was with...Sakura-chan?"

"What's it to you?"

"You know..." He droned on, making himself comfortable against the tree, "You're going to have to stop fighting with her at sometime or another. You know that, right?"

"Who says I have to? I'm not going to, and I'm not planning to." I replied rather forcefully.

"You have to be such a prick," he stated, his voice quiet and low, "you two never would've been fighting in the first place if you never put that 'Kick Me' sign on her back..."

"I didn't do that!"

"But you actually kicked her!"

"Not on purpose," was my quick reply.

He sighed in frustration, "Haven't you ever thought about anything? What if you and Sakura are put into some uncomfortable situation, and the only way to get you guys out of it is to work together? What's going to happen then? It's very unlikely that you two will have the easiest time trying to work together."

"Who says we're going to need to?" Was my only reply, before climbing down the tree and leaving Eriol with his own thoughts. Stupid ones, may I hadd. I mean, come on. Kinomoto Sakura and me? Working together? Believe me when I say I had every reason to highly doubt that.

**_xxxxxx_ **

**Normal Narration -**

"Five," Sakura whispered quietly, "Four, three, two...ONE!" _BRIIIIIIIIING!_ The dismissal bell sounded loudly and students began piling out of the classroom. Sakura let out a great sigh of relief, ready to go home after a hard day at school. She had lots of things to do before the day was over. She couldn't wait to get home!

"Class dismissed," Terada-sensei announced, "But before I forget, your partners for the Geography Project is on the bulletin board. Alphabetical order, no complaints!"

Sakura waited as everyone got up to check out who their partners were. She heard a mix of groans, complaints (not addressed to the teacher of course), and rejoicing. When the crowd had lessened, she slowly got up to check out who she was partnered with. Fingers crossed, her index finger scrolled down the large list of partners, until she saw her name.

_Kinomoto Sakura/Li Syaoran_

Sakura eyes widened in shock, "_NANI?_" Heads turned in her direction, and a jolt of panic shout throughout her body, "I...I...Terada-sensei!" She called out, pushing anyone that was in her way out, to solve the problem that was at hand, "Terada-sensei, I – " she began, only to be interrupted by someone else.

"—I think there was a mistake on the bulletin board!" Syaoran said, obviously just as shaken as Sakura. In his hand was the piece of paper, which he obviously plucked from the bulletin board. That probably would've explained all the protesting kids behind them, that were yet to see who they were partnered with.

"What?" their teacher said, gently taking the piece of paper from Syaoran, "No, Li-san. There is no mistake here. You and Kinomot-san are partners."

"IIE!" They both said in unison, "That can't be right! You see?" Sakura said, not willing to believe what her teacher had just said, "You said alphabetical order! I should be with Sahara, and Li is supposed to be with Tega!" She watched as Syaoran nodded his head vigorously, jabbing his finger at both of their names.

"Alphabetical order by last name. You might want to check your alphabet once more, if you don't already see what I'm trying to say," Terada-sensei explained, though he already knew that Syaoran and Sakura wouldn't be trying to make anymore futile attempts.

Both were speechless. All Sakura could do was breathe in deeply, and walk away from his desk. From the walk to her locker, to Tomoyo who was waiting for her by the water fountain, she was still trying to process the thought of her and Syaoran Li, working together on a school project. She was bound to fail.

_**xxxxxx**_

"Chin up, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo said, with that same smile she always used to make Sakura feel better. Funny, it didn't seem to be working at the moment, "Working with Li-kun can't be that bad, can it?"

"Oh, yes, yes it can!" Sakura said, her gaze kept firmly on her feet, "How are we supposed to work on this project together? One: we don't get along, two: we hate each other's guts, and three: did I mention we don't get along? Hoe...I can't afford to fail on this project!" She cried out helplessly, as she turned the empty corner of the school hall.

The school was basically empty now; the only kids left were probably the ones that had extra curricular activities, besides cheerleading, because there wasn't any practice that day. Sadly, Sakura walked as one condemned, Tomoyo's pale hand on her back, saying soothing words. You'd think Sakura just found out she was sentenced to life in prison, when really, she was partnered up for a school project with someone she hated.

"Um, Sakura-chan, before we leave, I want to show you something." Tomoyo said, breaking the silence. She took hold of Sakura's shoulders and steered her into another hallway, which she basically never used, so that neither of them were near the exit. "Hold on. This won't take long...hopefully."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sakura asked, trying to stop her best friend from pushing her any further, but with no avail. Finally, they came to a halt in front of a large, black door, which was no doubt the janitor's closet. What on earth could Tomoyo possibly show her that was in the janitor's closet?

**_xxxxxx  
_  
Sakura -**

"What do you have to show me?" I asked suspiciously.

Tomoyo sighed deeply, "Well, Sakura," she began, wringing her hands together, "I just want to remind you that I'm your best friend. I would never choose to do anything to you unless it would help you in some way or another. So after what I do, you have to promise me you won't get angry."

"I'm not promising anything," I replied, hands on hips, "Until you show me what it is you have to show me!"

Slowly, Tomoyo took a key out from her pocket. Unexpectedly, Tomoyo opened the closet door and shoved me inside. Before I could even react, Tomoyo had shut the door closed, and locked once more. To my disadvantage, it was pitch black, and for those of you who don't know, I don't work well with small, dark places. My breathing became short and tears threatened to pour down my face.

With whatever strength I could muster, I started to bang on the door, sure to make a lot of sound so that someone could come and save me, "Tomoyo! Tomoyo! Open the door! You -- " my voice began to crack and I didn't want to continue my sentence, but if I wanted to get out, I needed to, "You know I don't like the dark! C - Come on, Tomoyo..." I begged.

"Will you calm down?" A rough voice said, coming from behind me. Without thinking, I let out a loud scream and continued to frantically bang on the door.

**_xxxxxx_ **

**Syaoran -**

I knew I never should've followed Eriol to the stupid janitor's closet. After banging on the door a few times, I knew that it was hopeless. So, I just leaned against the back wall of the janitor's closet, and waited silently, knowing that Eriol was bound to come back sooner or later. I could wait, but for how long?

After waiting in the dark for a few minutes, I heard some voices. My ears perked up and I began to listen on what was going on. I didn't mean to eaves drop, but if it was Eriol, then I could've found out why he pushed me in, in the first place, and if it was a good enough reason, I wouldn't have to beat him up to a bloody pulp.

But it wasn't Eriol. It all happened too fast for me to react. One second, the door was opened, and someone else was pushed inside. By all the yelling and screaming, I knew it was a girl. And when she said how scared she was of the dark, and when she started calling for that camera-freak, Tomoyo, I knew it had to be Kinomoto.

"Will you calm down?" I said, thoroughly annoyed.

Just when she had calmed down just a little bit, she started to scream again. If I hadn't known what a weakling Sakura was, I could've thought that she would've broken down the door. Taking hold of both her shoulders, I felt her beat against my chest, struggling as hard as she could. "Let go!" She screamed, kicking and punching anywhere. Kami-sama, she was freakishly strong.

"Kino – Kinomoto! Will you stop it? It's just me!"

**_xxxxxx_ **

**Sakura -**

"Kino - Kinomoto! Will you stop it? It's just me!" I heard. My eyes widened. Could it possibly be who I thought it was? Slowly, the same person that took hold of me so aggressively let me out of his arms, so I could step back. My eyes squinted in the darkness, and if I looked hard enough, I could see the shape of another person – not a monster, thank goodness.

"S – Syaoran?" I gasped out. Without even thinking, I melted in his arms and began to sob in his shoulder. I felt his arms wrap themselves around me tightly, as if he was to never let go. I began to calm down when I felt his palm starting to stroke my back. I let out a large breath. I never knew Syaoran could be so gentle.

"Are you better now?" He asked, in probably the nicest voice he ever used on me.

I nodded, but remembering how dark it was, I answered, my voice more croak-like than ever, "Hai."

"You know," I heard Syaoran say, sensing a movement in the darkness, "You could've just told me to turn the lights on." I heard a click, and the first thing I saw before the whole room lit up was Syaoran's arm, pulling on a single chain.

It was the tiniest, dirtiest room I ever saw. The exact amount of space Syaoran and I had between each other had to be the width of three keyboards (that's how small the room was). In the room was a large shelf, filled with dust rags, differed brands of polish spray, a few amount of buckets, duct tape, etc. Not to mention a sturdy mop, which leaned against the corner of the room.

"Thanks…" I said reluctantly.

The gentleness of Syaoran that he had just handled me with a few seconds ago had completely vanished; the only sign of welcome he gave me was a simple nod of his head. We stared at each other for quite a while, and during that silence, we never spoke. If we had however, our conversation would've most probably gone on like this:

_"If anyone asks, I never cried on your shoulder because I was afraid of the dark."  
"Baby."  
"I mean it! If this ever leaves the closet, I'll personally strangle you."  
"You can try. And trust me when I say it won't."  
"Why should I?"  
"You seriously think I want people to know that I actually _let _you cry on my shoulder? Not a chance."_

Satisfied with our what-what-would-have-been conversation, I returned to the only exit to the closet and began banging once more. I heard Syaoran sigh from behind me and I rolled my eyes, frustrated, "Aren't you at least going to help?" I asked. I knew I wasn't the only one that didn't want to be in there.

"Why bother?" He replied, "It's pointless. These walls and that door aren't exactly paper thin."

"It's worth a shot."

"No it's not."

Angrily, I turned around, "Why do you always have to be so negative about things? _You_ may have finished your homework because you're such a genius, and _you_ might not have a best friend to call every night, but I certainly do, and I can't keep them waiting any longer! I've already wasted about ten minutes of my precious time stuck in here with you!"

"Oh don't even start with me about that homework and stuff. Firstly, you should've worked harder in class so you wouldn't have those assignments for homework. Secondly, are you _seriously_ still going to phone that camera-freak, after what she's just done to you?" Was his smart-aleck reply. He was glaring just as hard as me as I was him.

"For your information," I began sternly, "That _camera-freak_ is my friend. And I _would've_ finished those stupid homework assignments if I didn't have some jackass sitting behind me, always saying stupid comments and lame insults distracting me from accomplishing _any_ work!"

That shut him up. Neither of us spoke for another five minutes. If we had, I imagined it to be a little something like this:

_"Hey Kinomoto?"  
"Shutup."  
"Fine. I was only trying to tell you that there's a spider on your shoulder."_

My eyes widened when I saw the spider, and I screamed louder than I had when I thought I was alone in the darkness. My hand swiped the spider off of my shoulder, and I could've sworn that I jumped so high I could've crashed my hand into the ceiling. As if there were hot coals beneath my feet, I wouldn't let them touch the ground, and every time they did, I would just jump back up again, hoping that it won't touch me.

Sooner than I had expected, my arms were wrapped around Syaoran once more, and my head was lying on his shoulder. I was shocked to see that my legs were curled around his waist, and his arms were supporting me by holding tightly onto my spine. However, I could've cared less at the moment, seeing as how I'm terrified of spiders.

"Keep it away, keep it away!" I screamed, hugging Syaoran more tightly, for fear of the spider crawling up to me.

"I can't keep it away from you if you're suffocating me like this!" Syaoran answered.

"Just stomp on it!" I yelled, louder than I had intended. Syaoran obeyed, probably wanting me off of him as quick as possible, and lifted his leg high into the air. With just one stomp, I knew Syaoran had gotten the spider, and slowly, I began to remove my arms from around his neck. My legs dropped to the floor, and he set me up against the wall, not believing I could stand by myself.

"Kami-sama, Kinomoto. I didn't know you were scared of such tiny things."

"Shutup!" I answered, most definitely not in the mood for his stupid remarks.

"Alright, alright. Are you okay?" He said, in a much nicer tone. I nodded, keeping my gaze firmly on my shoes. I watched as Syaoran's feet backed away, far enough for me to not see them anymore. I could tell that he was on the opposite side of the wall, doing just the same as I was.

Just when my eyes were basically ripped from my shoes, I made contact with Syaoran's eyes. With just one lift of an eyebrow, we made yet another silent agreement:

_"This never, ever leaves the closet."  
"I thought we went through this already?"  
"Just making sure." _

_**xxxxxx **_

**Syaoran -**

Time passed slowly when we weren't fighting, or speaking. All I knew was that we were in the closet for almost an hour, and we haven't even said a word since her last spazz attack. I stayed, arms folded, leaning against the wall, as Sakura slowly sank down to her butt, (probably tired of standing), and wrapped her arms around her knees.

"Why do you think they shoved us in here?" I asked, breaking the silence.

My voice must've startled her, because I saw her jump slightly. She shrugged lamely, obviously not wanting to talk. Unexpectedly, she gasped. What did I need to protect her from now?

"I almost forgot!" Sakura exclaimed, standing up, "Why are _you_ in here?"

My eyebrows rose. That was right. The whole time we had been in the closet, she never bothered to ask why I was in there. I guess after all of her scream-fests, we both kind of forgot about talking why we were both in there in the first place.

"Uh…about that…I don't know. Hiirigizawa just dragged me over here and shut me in the closet. After a few minutes of waiting, I heard you and your friend out there, but I never knew it was you two. Your turn. Why are _you_ in here?"

"Same as – _oooohh!_" I heard her say, "I get it now! Okay. One question for you: Did Eriol-kun speak to you about…getting along with me sometime today?"

I wrinkled my nose up to think, and I heard Sakura giggle. I raised an eyebrow, but ignored it. "Actually…yeah! Now that I think about it, he did."

"_Aha!_ That explains everything." She said, "You see, Tomoyo-chan spoke to me about getting along with you, too! And I bet you that Eriol-kun talked about us being in some sort of sticky situation, and we had to work together to somehow get out of it, because Tomoyo-chan talked about it with me, too!"

"That's right, that's right!" I said, finally seeing the light.

"And now that we're partnered together for this geography project, and them being our friends, they didn't want us to fail, so they locked us in here, together! And this…this is our sticky situation! Ugh, I can't _believe_ the nerve of them!" I had to give Sakura some major props. I couldn't believe she thought this out on her own. I didn't realize how smart she could be when it came to problem solving.

"Wow…we've got some great friends, huh?" I stated, sarcasm dripping with every word.

Sakura laughed, and I had smiled. At exactly the same moment, both of our eyes widened, and both of us turned away from each other. I couldn't believe my ears. Did she just _laugh_ at something I said? Did I just smile _because_ she laughed? Did she think I was funny now? Oh, Kami-sama, I had so much questions, but neither of them could be answered unless I asked Sakura. And there was no chance in hell that I was going to do _that._

"Ano…" I began, scratching my neck nervously, "So…how do you think we're going to get out of here?"

"I don't know…" Sakura replied, her voice just as nervous as mine, "But…uh…meanwhile, why don't we just…talk about our geography plans? After all, it's kind of obvious that we're going to be stuck in here for quite a while, so we better make the time we have right now useful." She suggested.

"I guess so…"

_**xxxxxx**_

**Sakura -**

We were talking. Our mouths were moving, so that _had_ to mean that we were talking, right? I just couldn't remember what we were saying. I know we were talking about the geography project. That's what I had suggested. Then why wasn't I paying attention to Syaoran, and what he was talking about?

I didn't just laugh at his sarcasm, did I? I couldn't possibly have! His sarcasm was one of the things that I hated about him the most, and there I was, laughing at it! What if he thinks that _I_ think he's funny? And Kami-sama, I didn't see him smile, did I? But I could've _sworn_ I saw him smile! It was a good thing that he never really noticed me giggle at him. That one time, when he scrunched up his nose to think…well…he just looked so cute! I couldn't help but giggle. Oh dear, this Syaoran business was just so confusing.

"Kinomoto?" I heard, out of the blue.

My head snapped up and I had to blink a few times to regain my composure, "Hmm?"

Syaoran sighed and his head tilted to the side. He shook his head disappointedly and asked, "Were you listening to _anything_ I just said?"

I giggled nervously, "Ano…hai, I really was! But…I just got…distracted."

"By what?"

"Err…my thoughts?"

He sighed once more, and I felt like I had disappointed him or something. Just a second after I started feeling angry with myself for somehow disappointing him, I mentally scolded myself. I had no reason to be ashamed of myself, just because I wasn't paying attention to Syaoran! He never pays attention to me anyway, and _I_ never get angry.

_**xxxxxx**_

**Syaoran -**

"What's the matter?" she asked me.

"What is it with you and your thoughts?" I replied in turn.

I watched as she arched an eyebrow, "Nani?"

"Hai! It's like, every time in class, or when someone is talking to you – example: _ten seconds ago_ – you get distracted by your thoughts, and you completely lose track of everything. Oh, and today in homeroom? What was that? Too busy talking to your friend to listen to the sensei? Your lack of attention just bothers me _so_ much! It's no wonder why you're not any good in math!"

I watched as Sakura's bright emerald eyes grew dark. She looked at me as one possessed, and she just turned around, and didn't speak to me. Did I just say what I think I just said? I know I've said meaner things to her, but something about that insult made me hate myself at that particular moment. Maybe it was because even though I _knew_ Sakura beat herself up at night for not doing a good job in math, I just insulted her about it anyway. How could I have not known that math was a touchy subject for Sakura?

Maybe that wasn't it. But I knew that I had hurt her feelings, more than I probably had all year. How could I have known this, you ask? Because not even five minutes after I insulted her, I heard a whimper coming from the corner of the closet. Either it was a monkey, or a girl with feelings that had just been hurt, by the sickest guy in the world.

_**xxxxxx**_

**Sakura - **

_Jackass!_ Kami-sama, how dare he insult me about my math skills? Doesn't he know that I blame myself every night for being like that? Doesn't he know how _stupid_ I feel when I fail a math test? How stupid he _himself_ made me feel when he said that I had "lack of attention," and that it was no wonder why I wasn't any good in math. Oh, Kami-sama! That stupid _jerk!_

Not at all taken by surprise, I felt my eyes well up with tears. _Don't cry._ _Don't cry._ It was all just words. _Don't cry, dammit!_ Syaoran was right. I never listen to anyone. Not even myself. I held my breath, as the tears came pouring down my face, warm and salty on my cheeks. And then I felt I couldn't breathe. I still hadn't let my breath out. I didn't want to let him hear me cry! The last thing I wanted to do was show him how much damage his stupid insult did on me. _Don't let it out, don't let it out –_

Like I said, I don't even listen to _myself.  
**  
xxxxxx**_

**Syaoran -**

Kami-sama. I'd really done it, didn't I? Frustrated, I sighed, and walked over to Sakura. I really didn't mean it. She had to believe me. I was just not myself, that's all. Why do I even _care_ whether or not she believes me? Goodness, does being in a closet for over an hour start to get people insane? Maybe it doesn't, but it sure as hell does get people to not act like themselves.

I placed my hand on the small of her back, and I felt her entire body go rigid. She moved away from me, closer to the wall, and I sighed once more. I should've expected that from her. But what I didn't expect her to do after I sighed, was whip around, and glare at me with her glistening eyes, un-cried tears still kept hostage in her emerald orbs.

"What now, Mr. I'm-So-Smart-in-Math-I'm-Going-to-Make-People-Feel-Stupid? Have something else you want to say to me?"

"No…no, Kinomoto. It's not like that! I just – " I began, but was rudely cut off.

"—Because you go on right ahead and insult me, because I have nothing else to hide! Yup, that's right! Your insults _hurt_, believe it or not. Does it shock you that you've finally found out? Or have you already known that this entire time and are just enjoying my misery?"

I was stunned by her words. I had just gotten a taste of Kinomoto Sakura's angry side, and it was bitter, "Kinomoto, please, it's not like that! I just wanted to tell you — "

"Just leave me alone!" She shrieked, slapping away the arm that I had outstretched.

Completely angry with myself for making Sakura feel like this, I was determined to get Sakura to forgive me. We couldn't let this come in the way of our project, and most importantly, no one had ever made me feel like such a…such a…like such a jackass before! I needed her forgiveness to feel better about myself…to believe myself when I say I'm not _that_ much of a bad person.

So, without thinking, I took hold of her elbow and didn't let go. As hard as she struggled against me, I wouldn't let go, "Kinomoto, will you just stop? I promise that if you just hear me out, I'll let you go!" She hesitated. She seemed to be okay with the negotiation I made. We both seemed to be talking with our eyes, because it felt like we had made some sort of…silent agreement:

_"_Promise_ to let me go after I hear your bullshit apology?"  
"Promise."  
"…If you must." _

"Listen…that wasn't me back there. I don't go around teasing people about how stupid they are, and if I knew math was such a touchy subject for you, I never would have said anything! Plus…if I knew you were going to cry this hard…and if I knew how much my taunting affected you, I would've just kept my mouth shut the moment I met you. I would never do anything to purposely hurt you like this. You have to believe me when I say that."

_"Hmm…did you practice that?"  
"Err…no."  
"It seems rehearsed."  
"What? No. That all came from my…"  
"Your heart?"  
"How is it that you know things like that?"  
"I just follow mine." _

_**xxxxxx**_

**Sakura -**

Honestly? Believe it or not, I actually began to _consider_ his apology after the first sentence. Kami-sama, what is it about this guy that makes me hate him so much, yet sometimes make me think that he's positively the sweetest man that ever walked the planet? He lets you cry on his shoulder, he protects you from silly things like spiders…and he apologizes when he knows he has to. Unlike some jerks that put it off until they can't handle it anymore.

He's gentle, but rough. He's kind, but he's mean when he needs to be (most of the time, anyway). He's playful, but knows when to be stern. He's sarcastic, but serious when the time calls for it. He's always there with shoulder you know you can cry on, and he has eyes that go deeper than the ocean. Why couldn't I see this before?

"You know…you should consider yourself lucky." I said, after going through his apology at least three times over in my head.

"Oh yeah? Why?" He asked, a playful smirk taking over his entire face.

"Because it's not everyday I forgive someone like you."

Not even caring this time, we both laughed. Odd…I never seemed to notice how his laugh could be so…mesmerizing.

**_xxxxxx_ **

**Syaoran -**

I couldn't believe my ears. She forgave me! What were the chances of that? Well, I couldn't say that I didn't expect it. Sakura was always so kind and forgiving. She's always so playful and polite. The only time she ever speaks ill of anyone is when she's angry, and that's only like, five percent of the time because she's so cheerful! Her smile…and those enchanting emerald eyes could brighten up anyone's day. Why on earth couldn't I see this before?

Not even bothering to notice this time, both of us laughed. Funny…I never seemed to notice how sweet Sakura's laugh could sound. Numbly, I leaned forward. I didn't even notice. No wonder that same scent of cherry blossoms kept getting stronger with each second. Sakura's smile had vanished, but the twinkle in her eye remained. Even she too, was leaning forward. Did she even know it?

Suddenly, we heard someone turning the lock on the closet door. Almost instantly, we broke apart, and I could no longer smell any cherry blossoms. We both turned around to face the janitor, who was staring blankly back at us.

"What are you two doing in here? Can't you see it's a little late to be sneaking off and locking yourself up in the closet to get some _alone_ time? It's nearly four-thirty! School was let out two hours ago!" the Janitor exclaimed, stretching out his arm and grabbing the mop next to Sakura.

Both our cheeks flamed, "Er…gomen. We…couldn't help ourselves." I said, playing along with the crazy idea that me and Sakura wanted some "alone" time.

"Well…you kids better get home. I expect your parents are waiting."

Hurriedly, the both of us walked out of the closet, never wanting to go near it ever again. We basically sprinted away from it, as if it were some kind of monster. We both burst out of the main door laughing, and I had to clutch at my stomach helplessly, hoping that I didn't die laughing like this.

"Oh boy…that is one crazy janitor!" Sakura said, still belching giggles.

"You got that right!" I added, still not rid of any chuckles.

When our laughter died down, we never said anything. Sakura was the first to talk, probably because she actually had a parent waiting for her back at home, "Err…I should get going. My Outo-san is waiting…not to mention Touya-chan. I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

I nodded, "Right…um…before you go," I said, gently taking hold of her hand, "We should…we should make a study date or something like that…you know, to work on the project?"

I watched as Sakura nodded, "Uh…yeah. A study date. Is it alright if I call you tonight and…make plans?"

"Hai! That…that would be fine!"

"Alright, then. I guess I'll see you tomorrow." She said.

"I guess."

I watched her walk down the cobbled steps of the school, and down the road. Suddenly, I saw her stop and slowly turn around. For just a second, a simple second, our eyes made contact, and I felt an odd feeling sweep through my entire body. She smiled, and slowly raised her hand in goodbye. I nodded, saying my part of our silent goodbye:

_"So…how do you think this friendship we've just made will turn out?"_

_**xxxxxx**_

**Sakura -**

Just before leaving, I couldn't help but think about Syaoran's eyes. The way they looked into mine just before the janitor interrupted was so…unreal, and not like anything I've ever felt before! They kept on creeping into my mind, like some annoying pop-up add on the internet that you can't get rid of. I had to turn back just one more time.

Slowly, I turned around. What would I feel once our eyes made contact? The same one in the closet? I was soon to find out. Once my eyes landed on his, I sucked in a large breath. That same feeling, that very feeling I felt in the closet took over my body. Except, this time, slightly different. Something about it made me feel like Syaoran was making some sort of silent goodbye. I answered with a wave, and the answer to his question:

_"I don't know. Only time will tell. But I have a feeling it'll be a great one. Just remember how it all started in the janitor's closet." _

_**xxxxxx**_

**Normal Narration -**

From afar, two other people watched from a distant corner of the street. One with long, black hair and beautiful amethyst eyes to match. The other with shiny, slicked navy blue hair and eyes that reminded you of a calm and quiet sea. Three guesses as to who they were.

"I think we did a pretty good job locking them in there and sending that janitor." The girl with the amethyst eyes stated, turning to look at the other. They both smirked.

"I most certainly think we did." After a few seconds silence, and Sakura had disappeared from sight as she turned a different corner of the street, the blue haired boy spoke again, "I got to say, this was an awesome first date, don't you think?"

Tomoyo nodded evilly, and kissed Eriol's cheek. "We should do it again sometime,"

He turned the same evil look that Tomoyo had plastered onto her face, "Most definitely,"

-

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THE END.

**I won't be posting a sequel to this, sorry. Read and review, thanks :)**

Signing off,  
Agent08 – _My life as a secret agent_ xD


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